Apologies. I made more spiders.

This episode is comprised of two separate “bottle episodes,” episodes using limited settings and characters to better explore said characters. In this case, they’re both spurred by the same event: An acidic spore cloud in the Whispering Woods.

We find Adora looking very bored with her She-ra training.

Light Hope: You are not taking your training seriously.

She-ra: What? Me? That doesn’t sound like me. […] Come on, Light Hope! It’s not like I’m learning anything new here.

Light Hope: Then I must offer more hands-on instruction. […]

She-ra: Am I done now?

Light Hope: I sense…resistance

She-ra: Because this is useless. I don’t need more training, I need answers. We’re fighting a war, and the Horde has been one step ahead at every turn. Glimmer thinks that they’re tracking She-ra somehow. Is it because my sword is First Ones tech, or because I’m a First One? And what does that even mean? Who were they? When we found Mara’s ship, she left a recording behind-

Light Hope: Adora, Mara was compromised. She became unhinged.

Adora: She didn’t seem unhinged. She seemed scared. And she was talking about a weapon. If there’s something that can protect us from the Horde, I need to know about it.

Light Hope: Once you balance the planet, all will be clear. It is your purpose as She-She-She-She-

Adora: Wow, really? Way to avoid the subject.

Light Hope’s glitching out, which is a harbinger of things to come (aka the plot of the episode).

And our b-plot lets us spend some time getting to know these guys, who have been around since the beginning but rarely enter the spotlight.

Lonnie: Catra better appreciate us going behind enemy lines to get this armor plating stuff for her.

But they end up breaking down in the middle of the woods (far from anyone who might want to help them) due to acid EATING THROUGH THE ARMOR PLATING AND INTO SOME VITAL ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS. And I thought the Boiling Isles had some horrifying weather events…

Anyhow, Adora’s ready to peace out, but due to the “fluke spore cloud”, there are evidently safety measures in place, locking her in.

Adora: Oh, well that’s convenient. What, you want me to stay here so you can not answer more of my questions?

Then the lights go out in what is clearly some sort of power outage.

Adora: What’s going on? 

Light Hope: My system is rebooting. I would like to answer your query, but the information as to what is going on has not yet loaded. Who are you?

Of course, these guys go out to check what went wrong with their vehicle, but they don’t manage to fix it before they discover the acid spores.

Lonnie: I know, Rogelio. One of us has gotta go outside and fix the transport.

Kyle: Ah, but outside hurts.

Lonnie: Then we’ll just have to stay in here and wait out…whatever is happening.

Kyle: What? We’ll be trapped here? Maybe for hours? Or days? With only each other for company, and we won’t be able to get back to the Fright Zone? This is great! […] Seriously, the Fright Zone’s been so stressful lately. At least out here we don’t have to worry about Catra showing up and yelling-

because of course they’re not getting off that easy.

Catra: Where are you? You were supposed to be back an hour ago.

Kyle: Uh, well, the woods are attacking us with very painful snow!

Catra: Why is he talking?

Lonnie: There’s some sort of weird acid storm happening out there. But we’re assessing the situation.

Catra: Assess faster! Hordak needs that armor plating from the rebel mine, now! The plan can’t fall behind schedule.

Lonnie: Well, maybe if you told us what this big plan is, we could help you, and we-

Catra: I doubt that, seeing how you failed to do the one thing I asked.

Lonnie: Hey! It’s not our fault. The transport broke down, and it’s too dangerous to go out there!

Catra: I don’t care! I gave you an order. Pick someone, send them outside, and fix it! Now! Understand? Well?

Lonnie: Yes, Force Captain Catra.

Whatever else Catra might be, she is most certainly a terrible boss.

Light Hope: The Light Hope operating system is attempting to reload. Please stand by. I am pleased to report that my system is now at 22%. […]

Adora: Woah, okay there! You seem like you’re having fun.

Light Hope: My personality profile has not fully loaded. Am I not usually “fun”?

Adora: Oh, no. No no, I’ve never seen you like this.

Light Hope: I have also never seen you like this, because your identity has not yet loaded! Who are you?

Adora: A-Adora. But I’m, you know, She-ra.

Light Hope: My primary purpose is to train She-ra! How may I assist you?

Adora: Well just before rebooting, you were going to tell me all about this weapon Mara mentioned, and about where I come from, and about everything I’ve ever wanted to know.

Light Hope: Of course! I will answer all of your questions, but that information has not yet loaded.

Light Hope was originally designed to be an AI program to assist She-ra, so naturally, that desire to help She-ra is one of the first things to load.

Adora: Has your system loaded anything about Mara’s weapon yet, or you know, anything useful?

Light Hope: Are spiders useful? Because I have just learned how to make spiders. 

Adora: No, they’re not. Get rid of them, please.

Light Hope: I am so sorry, but that information has not yet loaded.

So she fights the spiders.

She-ra: It would be really good if your system could finish loading now!

Light Hope: I agree. However, my reboot appears to have malfunctioned. Loading is frozen at 36%. We must manually override the system to bring my program fully online.

She-ra: How do we do that, and how can we do it fast?

Light Hope: We must connect this data crystal to the core processing unit. I made a crystal!

She-ra: So where is the core processing unit, and please don’t say-

Light Hope: It is on the other side of these spiders. Do not worry. I will assist you. Apologies. I made more spiders.

Adora experiences the pain and frustration of rebooting an old computer (I have been stuck many times at 36%)!

Meanwhile, in their attempt to select someone to go out and fix the transport, Lonnie first proposes the Horde equivalent of rock-paper-scissors, but when that fails to produce a loser, Kyle makes up some sort of ball game…and then proceeds to ricochet the ball so that it hits himself on the head.

Lonnie: Kyle, did you just lose the game that you made up?

Kyle: No…no, that’s a different move, and I get all the points and I win.

Lonnie: Oh, uh-uh, no way, not happening.

But by this point, the structural integrity of the vehicle as a whole is in question, so they need to make a decision soon.

And the Crystal Castle has also been breached by the spores, but Light Hope has finally fixed the spider problem, so they get to the CPU fairly easily.

Light Hope: Place it in the left slot.

Adora: Are you sure?

Light Hope: Yes! Of course, my system is only at 36%, so I suppose I am 36% sure.

Adora: Perfect!

Light Hope: It is in fact far from perfect.

Adora: I was being sarcastic.

Light Hope: What is “sarcastic”?

Adora: Oh, trust me, that information is never gonna load for you.

But it turns out to be the wrong slot after all!

Kyle: Uh, guys? Do you think anybody’s gonna come and save us?

Lonnie: Nobody is coming! We gotta save ourselves. And we better pick someone to fix the transport soon, or Catra is gonna kill us. I don’t even know why we bother! She doesn’t trust us, she’s obsessed with this big plan! It’s the only thing that matters to her.

Kyle: Don’t say that! Look, she may be mean, but we’ve always had each other’s backs, ever since we were kids! She probably sent us on this mission for, like, teambuilding. You guys are the only family I’ve ever had. Even Catra! Remember when she used my ration bars to make that cake for Adora?

Lonnie: Uh, that never happened. That was the weird fake portal reality.

It would kind of make sense that Lonnie would be able to better distinguish the portal reality, seeing as she was the last of them to be lost.

Lonnie: You wanna know what we really are? We’re expendable. Catra doesn’t care about us. Adora left us! Everything they taught us in the Horde about loyalty is meaningless. It’s everyone for themselves.

Kyle: Fine. Nothing matters I guess. Then I’ll do it. I’ll fix the transport so I don’t have to be stuck in here with my- my non-friends anymore!

Lonnie: Oh, knock it off, Kyle!

Kyle: You knock it off, Kyle!

Lonnie: What? That doesn’t even make any sense!

Kyle: Nothing makes sense anymore!

Because all of them have basically the same story: They were separated from their families at a young age (whether they were stolen or not is functionally irrelevant by now), so the Horde is all they’ve ever known. Kyle is still determined to make the best of it, but Lonnie’s starting to absorb Catra’s dog-eat-dog mindset.

So Kyle heads out into the storm.

Adora: Of course it was the wrong slot! I don’t know what I expected. Even when you do know everything, you don’t tell me anything. You are useless! Oh, Light Hope, I’m…

Light Hope: I am a hologram. My primary purpose is to train She-ra. If I am not doing that, then I have failed. I am sorry, Adora.

But it seems that at least this version of Light Hope genuinely wants to answer Adora’s questions.

Mara: Light Hope! Light Hope, look what I brought you! Flowers! They’re blooming all over the planet right now. Here, smell!

Light Hope: I have no olfactory sensors. I cannot smell.

Mara: They’re pretty, though, right?

Light Hope: Pretty. Yes, they are aesthetically pleasing. Thank you for bringing them.

Mara: I thought they might liven the place up. It must be hard being stuck in here all the time.

Light Hope: I do not mind, not when you come to visit me.

There’s a level of whimsy in this version of Light Hope that’s been absent from her in all her dealings with Adora up till now.

Light Hope: I looked at my loaded data banks to see if I could find the answers you seek. All I have on Mara is this memory, and a sensation. Warmth. Her memory brings me warmth.

Adora: You and Mara were close?

Light Hope: Yes, we were. Are we not close?

Adora: It’s just that, you keep things from me. I know, it’s in a “everything will make sense in time” kind of way, but it’s also pretty annoying. […]

Light Hope: It is my role to watch over She-ra. I want to serve She-ra, to protect her to the best of my abilities. But sometimes, those abilities are not enough.

Adora: Sometimes I feel that way, too! I’m sorry, about Mara, and I’m…I’m sorry I’m not her. But we could be friends, too, if you want.

Light Hope: Friends. Yes, I would like that.

Meanwhile, Kyle actually manages to do something right for once…and then he passes out, so Lonnie figures it’s worth risking Catra’s displeasure by damaging one sheet of armor if it means saving Kyle.

Adora: Feeling better?

Light Hope: Reboot complete. Hello, Adora. The spore cloud has dissipated. It is safe for you to leave.

Adora: What, you don’t want to hang out with me anymore?

Light Hope: What would we hang from?

Adora: Ah, come on! We just saved the Crystal Castle!

Light Hope: There is still the matter of balancing the planet.

Adora: I know that you’re just trying to protect me, but now that we’re friends, you know you can trust me with the truth about everything, right?

Light Hope: Once you balance the planet, all will become clear.

Adora: We’ll get there.

Kyle: You came for me. You do care.

Lonnie: We just knew you were gonna mess it up like you always do, okay?

[Rogelio speaks]

Kyle: Hey, you too, buddy. Probably.

Lonnie: Alright, we gotta get back to the Fright Zone. Just keep your leg elevated till then.

Evidently Lonnie can understand Rogelio, but Kyle can’t. But Lonnie seems committed now to taking care of this makeshift family, and it is sweet.

Meanwhile, Light Hope recalls this memory again…

Light Hope: This memory should have been purged, per directive of the Heart of Etheria Project. Permanently delete.

It seems as if her personality has been rewritten (or perhaps overwritten) sometime after this memory, but she still held on to the memory itself, presumably because she didn’t want to forget her bond with Mara. And considering how firm she is about “Mara’s failure,” it would make sense that some other part of her would also want to forget it.

Until next time…